VentureSoul, a Mumbai-based venture debt firm announced the first close of its Rs 600 crore maiden fund, raising Rs 146.5 crore. This is as per a report by Inc42.
The venture debt firm, registered as Category II AIF under SEBI, reportedly aims to target a corpus of Rs 300 crore, with an additional Rs 300 crore in greenshoe options.
It plans to invest in 20-25 start-ups with an average ticket size of Rs 25-30 crore. The maximum amount is set to be capped at Rs 60 crore.
VentureSoul has reportedly secured commitments from a diverse group of investors, including corporates, high-net individuals and family offices among others.
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The funds will reportedly be used to support startups at the Series A stage or beyond, particularly those with established business and revenue models, and will focus on sectors such as fintech, B2C, B2B, and SaaS.
As per the firm's reported statement, it also plans to have differentiated debt proposition for the new age economy clients, where the bankers are planning to bring in banking practices into the fund world by not only evaluating the clients differently, but more importantly by providing differentiated debt product proposition for the new age economy clients.
VentureSoul was founded by three ex-HSBC bankers - Gala, Anurag Tripathi and Kunal Wadhwa. The trio bring over 65 years of experience. The partners launched VentureSoul after achieving success in building businesses ground up for various domestic and international organisations.
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It also reportedly aims to separate itself by blending prudent banking principles with new-age credit evaluation technology, adopting a partnership towards its portfolio companies and specialising in providing fitting solutions
Pure debt funding accounted for approximately 4.3 per cent of the total $148.8 billion funding raised by the Indian start-ups between 2014 and April 2024, as per Inc42's data.
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